Updates and Monkey Britches Photos

My dad is doing much better. They moved him into a rehabilitation center today, and he will be working closely with a physical therapist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist for the next stage in his recovery. He is also rather close to home, which makes it much easier for the family to visit. Thank goodness everything is working out.

I took mental health day today and stayed home, sans Sydney, to grade. It was so nice, a silent house, papers and laptop spread out before me. I spent a solid 5 hours, broken by a pumping session and lunch, grading unit tests, timed writings, and discussion questions. All I have left to catch up on is my juniors' research papers and unit tests. Midpoint is two weeks away, and I plan on forcing Steve to bug me to grade even just one research paper a night so I'm done by midpoint. The unit tests are online, so it won't take long to get that finished...if I can just get going. But, my seniors are doing another timed writing tomorrow, so I think that will be grading time...

And last, Monkey Britches...those of you who followed me when I was on FB knew I called Sydney that after he first came home. He was so tiny, and several of his receiving blankets had monkeys on them, so I took to calling him Monkey Butt, or Monkey Britches. It seems the self-fulfilling prophecy has hit again...

I don't know if this is "normal" behavior or not. Sydney has taken to playing with two objects at the same time - one with his hands, and the other with his feet. Take a look at these photos, and pay attention to his appendages:

He truly looks like a little monkey when he plays. He did it again this evening - he was playing with blocks with Daddy. I have pictures of him playing, but not of his feet. We thought, prior to this new development, that he would be a lefty. He seems to favor his left side while playing. And Pop-pop is ambidextrous/lefty, so there is a possibility Sydney will be as well. But we never thought he would be multi-dextrous!! I'll keep you posted as we see how this development...develops. Hey, I've got my off-days, too...